Written by a BC stepdad.
Closure of BC schools due to coronavirus marked a sudden double transformation in lives of school-aged children: their homes became classrooms, and their parents became their teachers. During the last two months much has been written about the difficulties teachers and parents encountered since long-distance learning commenced in BC. In order to find out how this strange situation affects children and young adults, I interviewed my 13-year-old stepson Alex.
Alex is a bright and observant kid,but he does not do well at school. His interest in video games often saps his enthusiasm for doing homework. In addition, after tutoring Alex for the past few weeks I suspect that he may have a learning disability. Due to unresolved guardianship issues, Alex spent the first two months of the lockdown exclusively with his father.The latter is key since Alex’s father does not consider school important.
It did not take long for Alex to fall behind once long-distance education started. Without adequate parental supervision Alex has attended regularly only one out of three weekly online classes. Classes Alex usually missed had one thing in common: they lacked a regular schedule. According to Alex, teachers frequently cancelled and rescheduled classes resulting in an inconsistent schedule. Add to that a confusing and difficult to use online education platform, and Alex’s mess soon become deeper. “Even teachers have a hard time using that platform!” exclaimed Alex as we finished another round of Super Smash Bros.
As for classes Alex did attend, he found them underwhelming. “It’s hard to pay attention. Classes are boring, repetitive and annoying” was Alex’s assessment of online lectures. “We sit in front of the screen not allowed to show our faces. We are muted unless the teacher asks a question. The teacher is more fun in the classroom.” Student motivation was low, according to Alex. “When the teacher asks us a question in a regular class five or six kids raise their hands. And then he answers the questions, but at the same time he talks to the rest of us. Now only a couple of kids want to speak, and it takes them forever to let the teacher know.”
Alex uses his smartphone to attend online classes and that is not the only technology-related problem he experiences. Internet connection either at Alex’s or the teacher’s home is often inadequate and the video stream often stops in the middle of the lecture. Sometimes Alex has to log off and then log into the platform to restart the video stream.
Alex’s experience with learning during the time of COVID confirms the experience of teachers, published in an article on the Socialist Alternative Canada website. That article also reports difficulties teachers had in engaging their students due to the impersonal nature of the online platform. Tim Heffernan reported on the chaos many teachers experienced in juggling the changes COVID lockdown had in their personal life with demands of long-distance learning.
Socialist Alternative has written about governments ignoring warnings of a pandemic. While the BC government was caught off guard (like other governments), when it did become apparent that changes would need to be made, how much did it listen to the BC Teachers Federation, teachers and students? Education should be learner-centred and the needs of students must take centre stage now and in the future. We are not out of the woods yet with COVID-19. Warnings are that we may be hit by a second or even third wave. Let’s hope students can have a better experience next time around.
